Devotionals

 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24 NKJV).

What are you chasing after today? What are you in pursuit of? The only way you can know what and who you are following is to evaluate what you are chasing after… Is your heart set upon the things of this world, keeping up with the latest trends; new car, new cell, stylish clothes, latest hair style or rug, body art, ipad, face lift, day spa, deluxe vacation, riches and luxury, extra fine dining or climbing that ladder at work…? Some of these things might be kind of cool for the moment and some necessary too, but if they are controlling your latitude totally to follow the Lord it might be time again to measure yourself against the Word of God. The Bible tells us to examine ourselves. “Let us search out and examine our ways, And turn back to the LORD…” (Lamentations 3:40 NKJV)

I believe you and I know this is the best way because the Word tells us to do this. We should be doing this always in everything we do seeking the Lord diligently and searching His scriptures daily to help us follow Him. When we need His directions in every decision no matter how big or small then we ought to be taking it to the Lord instead of thinking or saying I hope the Lords in this thing without ever having brought it to Him in the first place, we need to stop and pray first and lay this matter before the Lord. Now I also know there are times when we feel led to step out in faith in some area and we are totally trusting and believing that the Lord is leading us and we are not running our own game and we have also bathed the matter in much prayer.

There are times when we feel like we might not be in the best place in our walk with the Lord it’s those times and before those times come we ought to be in His Word searching, examining, listening, waiting and then following Him. If you are following Him from afar, remember back when Peter was following Jesus from afar, he denied Christ, but the Lord tells us to deny ourselves not Him so stay close, and be close enough to touch the hem of His garment… to be able to hear His voice and receive His instruction. He gives us freedom but He does not want us to stray away just because He doesn’t have us in a headlock so we won’t run away. Sometimes we might be acting just like our dog (if you own one) that has superior hearing compared to us humans- but ever notice when they start sniffing with their nose to the ground they slowly and methodically move farther and farther away and all of a sudden they quit responding to your commands and instructions- it’s like they can’t hear you anymore, their superior hearing just abandoned them, totally weird how this happens and I know many of you know exactly what I am talking about here… even kids do this- even us big kids… But now that they have supposedly moved out of hearing range they think that you think they can’t hear you because of this supposedly out of hearing range sindrome - yet again… and now they have a legitimate excuse to keep moving further away from you and ignoring your instructions for them. Does this sound like something we do with God we get further and further away from His Word, prayer, Bible studies, fellowship, worship and following Jesus and His written instruction that we can’t hear Him anymore. We put our noses into other things that distracted us and caused us to lose focus and put us onto the scent of something other than God that quickly led us into enemy territory, we took the bait… next thing you know “bam” how did this happen, how did I get here so quickly, when did I leave my Master, didn’t I hear His commands, I just kept moving away from God and not seeking His instruction for me, I didn’t let up for one second to seek and ponder His Word, to seek Him, to seek His counsel, to bathe whatever it was that I was needing direction on in prayer, to turn to Him or turn back to Him to follow Him.

If anyone desires to come after the Lord and really desires means “needs to” and we always need to come after Jesus to be following Him then Bros wake up and deny yourself get your nose out of where it does not belong and deny yourself those things that you chase after, take up your cross, sacrifice your wants, your desires, give it up to the Lord and follow Jesus today and you will never go astray. You can never drift out of range of hearing Him if you keep letting Him hold your hand and heart and your mind, keep your eyes and focus always on Him, stay close to Him and keep following Him. Stay in the Word, stay on your knees in prayer, stay in fellowship, stay tuned to the things of God and follow hard after Him only, know who you are chasing and know that if you are following Jesus you will be chasing after Gods own heart. “My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me” (Psalm 63:8 NKJV).

"If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor” (John 12:26 NKJV).

“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus” (Act 4:13 NKJV).

When you read this account and realize the boldness with which Peter and John went forth in and shared their testimony in, it only could have come from the Lord. He gave them that boldness and this was realized as a result from hanging out with and spending time with Jesus and just like it says “And they realized they had been with Jesus. When we walk in His ways and stay in His Word and spend time with Jesus it will be evident to all. When you see Gods hand moving and see men and women He is using. You can see the fruit that comes from their labors, from their testimony, from their witness, from them being available, obedient and willing vessels to be used and poured out by the Lord, which can only come by spending time and being with Jesus. God was moving mightily through Peter and John people were being healed, miracles were happening and thousands were coming to the Lord.  

A few years ago I was looking through an old personal phone book and ran across a number from a guy I worked with in my youth. I paused and stared at the number and began to think upon this man and wondered whatever became of him. I thought to myself could this number still be good, I brushed it off and said no way it has been at least 32- 35 years since I last saw or talked to this man. I thought surely he has died he was older than me by at least 20 something years. And when I worked with him he was an old man at least 40 something, amazing how when you are younger you think 40 is really old and then it seems really young when you are 40ish….

I decided to give it a try and call this number just out of curiosity. I called and someone answered who did not speak English and when I asked for the guy I once worked with they hung up and I thought hmmm. Well let me try again and when I asked for him this time using the Spanish version of his name they handed the phone to someone who spoke English, could they have possibly known how bad my Spanish was??? Oh well, anyway when I asked for him again she asked who was calling and what I wanted, so I thought maybe this is his number and he has passed away and she is just being guarded in her responses… But when I told her I used to work with this person she replied let me get my dad, I was stunned to say the least. So I waited and when this voice came on I immediately recognized it to be my old friend and coworker. I could not believe that he still had the same phone number for one thing and another that he was still alive and living in the exact same house… This man was the hardest working man in the construction business that I ever knew; to this day I still practice what I learned from him in terms of work ethics. He was the best at what he did and the most common sense logical worker you ever saw. He always made everything even the most difficult jobs seem so easy because of the ability he had to simplify and organize total chaos in a construction work environment. You did not see many guys in their 40’s doing the type of work he did, you were considered to old to do that kind of back breaking hard work at that age but not him he did it with ease.  

On another note I was young and easily influenced at the time, I was thrilled to be working with this guy at the time and he made me a better brick layer than I had ever been because of his expertise in all areas of our work. He was also quite a drinker as I was, but I never drank while working, but that changed while working with this guy he taught me to be a professional at it with little effort on his part... This part of our relationship came with a great price as I started drinking more and more and it created huge problems needless to say. We had a lot of fun times working together it seemed, but painful as well. Even before I met this guy he knew my dad they hung out in the bars together. After a few years we parted ways mainly because I moved to another area and started doing another type of work that I could make a lot more money at and he did not particularly care for that type of work style so he went his way and I went mine. I heard about him a little through the grapevine but then you know how time just seems to fly by and you realize wow where did and how did the time go and I wonder what ever happened to this dude or that dude….  This is just a brief outline description of our friendship prior to this phone call what happens next still blows my mind, only God could have done this….

Back to my conversation with my friend when I started talking to him after he answered the phone; He started talking about old times and joking of all the old memories and all the guys we use to know that had passed away and after 30-40 minutes of catching up we said goodbye. Before we hung up he told me he lived in the same place and to come by sometime as he was retired, so I said I would.

You see the Lord had put this man on my heart to share the Gospel with and had led me to call him which seemed crazy at the time. So after a few weeks I went and saw him and we reminisced and went over all the old stories and then some… But I was on a mission I wanted to share the Gospel with him, but could not get up the nerve or boldness because it just did not seem the right timing; he was still reliving the past, caught up in those old times and they were so far removed from me… he did say that he quit drinking about twenty years ago and I said really me too about the same time and that I started going to church and following the Lord. But for some reason I just could not get an in to share with him and after a bit of time I left his house. I was discouraged I felt like my reason for going there was to share my testimony and the Gospel but he wanted to talk old times and I just couldn’t, it seemed difficult to find the right opportunity to share with him.

A few weeks and then months went by and I had become so convicted in my heart that I called him and this was after much prayer asking God for boldness and when he answered I immediately started to share my testimony.  I told him that the reason I went to his house in the first place was to share the Lord and the Lord had put that on my heart and I wanted him to know what God has done for me and how he delivered me and I wanted him to be able to have what I had and that without Jesus he was going to hell. I told him he was such a great influence on me work wise when I was younger and that I had learned a lot from his work ethics and experience and I had never forgot what he taught me and that he was the best at what he did and I used everything he taught me to this day in my work and everyday life for common sense logical application for getting every job done no matter how big or small without wasting a step in fact making sure every step counted. I said I found Jesus and that was the reason I didn’t drink anymore, I left that old lifestyle and that my life had been such a blessing since receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and wanted him to know that and that was what I wanted to share with him when I came to his house. Also, his only son died from a drug overdose when I was working with him back in the day and he had dealt with it by drinking to bury the pain and I said that is where I was headed was certain death from the life I was leading from over indulgence, which is the only thing that can result from living like that. I asked him if he wanted to ask Jesus into his heart and be delivered from that and have eternal life in Christ. I told him he had been so good to me teaching me so much and my heart loved him for that and that I wanted to share the best thing that ever happened to me with him so he could have what I had and he said yes- so I led him in a prayer and he received Christ right then and there on the phone. The Lord Jesus Christ had given me the boldness to share with this old friend and new found brother in the Lord. I prayed and spent time with the Lord asking Him to help me and equip me with His word to share and He did and it amazes me to this day how the Lord did this, you see it is just as the Sanhedrin had supposed they perceived that Peter and John were untrained and uneducated just as I was and am and maybe you too, but the Lord can give you boldness like He did with Peter and John and even me on that day to boldly proclaim His Gospel and the testimony He has given each one of us to share the Good News! This was a miracle from the Lord when I ponder the facts of this story that took thirty plus years to formulate it seems impossible, but nothing could be further from the truth because all things are possible with God. Ask Him and you shall receive Boldness to share His Truths and spend all your time with Jesus and it will be in that day evident to all who come in contact with you that you too have indeed been with Jesus- Amen! God bless you with boldness & zeal in all His ways as you acknowledge Him and serve Him! Pray! Pray! Pray!

“And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness”(Act 4:31 NKJV).

But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him (John 4:23 NKJV).

Worship is it not adoration, love, praise, exaltation, admiration, reverence, respect, devotion, adulation, veneration; to adore our Father our God our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But the hour is coming, and now is when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. The time is now, it is come and now is, our Father is looking for true worshipers, “The Real McCoy” ‘The Real Deal” no substitutions allowed or accepted only true worshipers that is what our Father wants, desires and is looking for in our hearts! Those that will worship Him in spirit with all their strength, it will be molded into their character and evident by the courage they display in fervent worship of our Father. The very essence that God gave and that is in our heart and soul to worship in spirit the Father who gives us the fortitude and will to worship Him with reckless abandonment…. from the depths of our heart and soul. It is that fortitude that glorifies our Father and is in the true worshipers.  God our Father is worthy of worship and He alone is worthy of worship, nothing else.

Worship is an act of reverence and that which we hold in high regard with the utmost respect, that which we place first above everything and all things. Nothing at all should come before God, but maybe there is something in your life and my life that comes before the Lord. Not intentionally we say, of course that is a given. But what do we spend most of our time doing, what do we give our first attention to when our feet hit the floor upon the morning dawn? What can occupy our time more than anything before we realize it? What could we be justifying in our lives as legitimate time consumption areas that might be robbing us of true worship of our Father in heaven? I know many of us have things we enjoy doing and like to do, but do we give that much time to true worshiping of our Father? True devotion of that same amount of time to whatever it is that we are doing that we give to God? We have 24 hours in a day and maybe we sleep 6-8 hours a day and work 8-10 hours a day leaving maybe 6-10 hours. The question is what takes the bulk of our time? Does your heart cry out as you ponder, does the math add up to what you think it should as far as what you thought you were spending your time on in the way of worshiping our Lord? I am not referring to church time, but that time where we worship the Lord in everything we do and say all the day long. We can always be somewhere else, but where is your heart? Is your heart continually in reverence, expression and service of our Father?

“Give to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring an offering and come before Him. Oh worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness” (1Chorincles 16:29 NKJV)! A few things I noticed in this verse first it says to give the Lord the glory due His name. How much glory is He due? “All” the Glory, for sure bros! Is your life a reflection of that- “giving all the glory to God the Father”? Have you been delivered from the me and I sindrome to the point where you put God first and give Him “All the Glory” in all you do and all you say? Secondly I see in this verse “Bring an offering” what are you bringing to the Lord, any leftovers? What do you give back to the Lord? Do you give Him the first fruits in and of everything including your time, do you let God the Father be first in everything, true reverence, true respect, true devotion, true love for our God so much so that nothing comes before the Father except your utmost praise and worship in complete adulation and sold out true love for true worship and adoration of our Lord God. Bros the Bible says we must examine ourselves.  “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? unless indeed you are disqualified (2 Corinthians 13:5 NKJV).” We have to measure ourselves against the standard we as Christians hold ourselves accountable to and that measure of standard is the Word of God. If our standard of measure is the Bible how do we measure up? That measure is a reflection of how we are walking in the things of God, our trust in Him, our confidence in Him alone, our reliance upon our Father God, our belief, our assurance, our conviction, our devotion, our loyalty and worship of the Lord. This is the math in which we are accountable by Gods Word our measuring standard if you will… Bros where are you, are you tight with God? Is He tight with you? Check it out and know where you are, so if you are short on the math, seek the Lord. He can make up your short comings and also so He can know where you are at with Him. Then Worship Him and Him alone- amen!

“All the earth shall worship You And sing praises to You; They shall sing praises to Your name Selah (Psalm 66:4 NKJV).”

6Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. 7For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice: 8"Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, As in the day of trial in the wilderness,

9When your fathers tested Me; They tried Me, though they saw My work.10For forty years I was grieved with that generation, And said, 'It is a people who go astray in their hearts, And they do not know My ways.'11So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest (Psalm 95:6-11).'"

“Exalt the LORD our God, And worship at His holy hill; For the LORD our God is holy (Psalm 99:9 NKJV)”.

"God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth (John 4:24 NKJV)."

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves James 1:22 NKJV)”.   

 “the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for [him] and at an hour that he is not aware of, Mat 24:50 NKJV”…

Sidewalk superintendents are everywhere that someone is doing real work. Ever notice when you are working and serving the Lord somebody always comes up and says they use to do that and then they proceed to tell you about the old days, the past, the time they served and how they miss it and wish they could recapture those times…

Well God is calling us to do exactly that, to serve today to be doers of His Word, not hearers only, not spectators. We are not promised tomorrow, we are not called to live in the past or to stop serving, but we live and serve in the here and right now, the present. If we live in and walk in His word and His word lives & walks in us and we do His word, we practice His word and we obey His Word then we are doers of His word. If you find yourself recalling all those times you use to serve and maybe you are not presently serving something is wrong. We do not want to be a pastime sidewalk superintendent but a present day modern servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now I know there are times when the Lord puts us on the bench and we are chomping at the bit to get back in the game. We want to run some plays, give some assists,  score some touchdowns, shoot some three pointers or hole in one’s for the Lord and be a part of the team, a faithful servant, in other words we want to do something for the Lord to serve Him and honor Him and be used by Him.

Jesus reminds us in the Parable of the Great Supper to not give up serving even if they reject the message or the messenger is turned away then they refuse the invitation. But even after the invitation was sent out and those that refused to come to the supper the master again sent them to go out quickly into the streets to go and reach out to the poor, maimed, lame & blind, the down and out and when that was done there was still more room. And we know God still has more room in His Kingdom and wants us to go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in that His house may be filled…

 Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel [them] to come in, that my house may be filled (Luke 14:23 NKJV).

When we have done everything trying to witness to those who have heard and even received the invitation and rejected it, we don’t give up we reach deeper as a faithful servant for our Master a servant pleasing to his Master. Jesus wants us to take His invitation to all and even those who are not in the main stream of life, the homeless, the poor, those who live in the riverbeds, the parks, the one’s that are disabled, the one’s in the nursing homes, the crazy one’s on the street, the blind, the panhandler’s on the corners, the one’s that nobody cares about, the one’s that are lonely and nobody will talk to or share the Lord with, the one’s that are reviled and loathed, the unloved, the un-churched, the despised, detested, despicable and down trodden of our society…. We cannot ignore these; the one’s the Lord loves enough that He allowed us to be saved so that we could be sent to go out by His grace and mercy and serve our Master and minister to these precious one’s whom the Lord loves. We do not want to be the one that is always saying I use to serve the Lord; I use to do this or that for the Lord….  We take the message, the Lords invitation and deliver it how ever many times the Lord sends us and trust the Lord with the results. We just keep delivering for the Lord. We want to be able to say the Lord is using me I am serving Him and He is bearing fruit from my service and He is being glorified with my servants’ heart.

Bros we all need to start doing something now today not later, the time is short- “redeem the time”, the Lord has called us to be servants today not sidewalk superintendents or spectators with old stories from yesterday to relive but to be alive in Christ a faithful servant today. He does not want us to grow faint hearted and give up. I know we are all thankful the Lord never gave up on us. How many times can you remember Jesus sending someone to share the gospel with you before you came to accept Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior? A couple of times or a hundred, a thousand times or can not remember because He sent someone too many times to count. That is the way I feel, I cannot count how many times “Jesus sent His servants to share the gospel with me and how many times I rejected it before I finally accepted my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I was one of those one’s who was on the other side of the Jesus Movement” back in the day. My friends and I use to be the one’s that were always hitchhiking with our long hair and all and every time we got a ride by a hippie we thought cool maybe we would all get stoned on the way to the beach or wherever we were going. We use to be so bummed when they turned out to be Jesus freaks and would pick us up, because we thought they were long haired stoners and they ended up saying to us with a huge grin on their faces as we got in their car “Jesus Loves you man”. We would be thinking to ourselves great let us off at the next corner as we stared at the giant sized coffee table Bibles on their dash boards…. But the point is these hippies were so on fire for the Lord that they went looking for people to minister to and share the gospel with, they did not wait for someone to come up and ask them about Jesus- they took to the highways to share Jesus with boldness and zeal, they were servants for the Lord! They looked for opportunities; their excuse to pick us up was purely to share Jesus. What a great excuse, do you ever make excuses to go out of your way so you can share the Gospel? Jesus is a great excuse right bro!  When is the last time you shared the gospel with someone on the highway or looked for any opportunity to tell someone about Jesus? Jesus never gave up on you or me and we ought never give up on sharing with others around us ever- even if we have to tell them a thousand times, because they are worth it and Jesus does not desire to see one of them not enter His Kingdom in Heaven.

You just do not know the impact you can have on a person when you share the Gospel with them. I remember God used my neighbor to share a verse with me and that woman never knew the impact it had on me. She was telling me a story about something and she mentioned well you know “You reap what you sow” and I heard this a million times before, but this time it stuck and that verse convicted my heart for a period of two years until I could not take it anymore and surrendered my heart to my Lord Jesus Christ. So never give up Bros, it could be the verse, the word they need to hear, this could be the time the Holy Spirit touches their hearts and changes them for eternity for Jesus. Be that faithful servant, don’t stand on the sidelines watching, get involved, start sharing today, be used by God wherever He calls you, be ready, start now today, He has given each one of us gifts, give them back in service to the Lord use those first fruits of your gifts to bless the Lord. “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:2 NKJV).

We have these trees in our area and last winter they trimmed all the branches and this spring all the leaves started growing and getting really green and shining forth Gods beauty. I noticed there were some brown dead looking leaves and branches and thought the tree trimmers must have left some of the cut dead branches up in the trees and as I looked closer I saw that they hadn’t left any but the tree had some branches that looked dead and some had tender beautiful green shining leaves all coming from the same tree. I thought wow that is the way it is with us as believers we can shine brightly for the Lord or just lay back and play dead and let someone else shine the bright light of Jesus Christ for all the whole earth to see. I would rather get pruned so I can bear more fruit than He take me away…

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16 NKJV).

 “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him [My] Father will honor” (John 12:26 NKJV).

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, [even] to the end of the age. Amen” (Mat 28:19-20 NKJV).

What more do we need, the Lord instructs us, commands us, if we have heard Him, then we ought to do that which He instructs us to do, be doers. What is holding you back, what are you waiting for, what excuse do you need (Jesus is the best One) to be a doer and not a hearer only.  Some of you like me that have been around may have used this little saying long before Nike took it for their sales slogan “Just Do it!” That was my saying I would even print it on employee’s checks, when guys that worked for me would tell me about doing something- I would respond “Just Do It” don’t talk about it do it! Do it for the Lord, today Bro, right now!

The Lord knows we need to be reminded constantly chiefly myself; Bros, I pray this is an encouragement, a call to serve, to use the gifts the Lord has given you, a call to be a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ to be glorified, to have our hearts and gifts stirred to service and to be faithful in ministering and being used for Jesus Christ. Serve the Lord Jesus Christ with “reckless abandonment” Amen!

1Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. 2So fire went out from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. 3 And Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD spoke, saying: 'By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified.' "So Aaron held his peace.

(Leviticus 10:1-3 NKJV)

Bros when God told Moses that He must be regarded as Holy He surely meant it. Nadab and Abihu came near the Lord in an unholy way and offered up profane fire before the Lord which He did not command of them; they were devoured by fire and died. They were serving their flesh more than the Lord it seems, God does want us to worship Him but in the way He prescribes. Possibly they had not died to their fleshly ways as they were serving and did not regard the Lord as Holy and perhaps as their flesh reared up in pride and they decided or maybe it was by compulsiveness that led them or caused them to rush in to do something unholy before the Lord and they were consumed. They did not distinguish between Holy and Unholy, Clean and Unclean. “that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean, (Leviticus 10:10 NKJV)” They did not obey the commandments of the Lord God. They were called to obey God, all His commandments and even held to a higher accountability because they were serving in the ministry, He laid out everything for them as to what they needed to do and what they couldn’t do, what was holy and unholy, clean and unclean and they still did not listen or obey and especially since when serving in ministry it is so important to follow and honor God as a witness to glorify God Almighty. Even when Moses who did not obey the Lord and was told because of his disobedience that he was not going to enter the Promised Land “The LORD was also angry with me for your sakes, saying, 'Even you shall not go in there (Deuteronomy 1:37 NKJV).” At least three times Moses mentions this, so it must be very important that he brought it up as a reminder the importance of obedience to God. Moses was deeply troubled by this consequence of his sin. A lesson on the importance of serving without sin in your heart- being a vessel of honor!

The instructions from God about the Altar of Incense in Exodus are very clear yet were ignored by Aarons sons who made an ungodly sacrifice of strange incense “You shall not offer strange incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering; nor shall you pour a drink offering on it (Exodus 30:9 NKJV).” Nadab and Abihu might have thought they could try to operate in the flesh; they were unclean, their hearts were impure before the Lord and God told them what would happen if they didn’t consecrate themselves before coming near the Lord God. “Also let the priests who come near the LORD consecrate themselves, lest the LORD break out against them (Exodus 19:22 NKJV)."  God has His way that He wants things done and He has a reason for that and He is always so gracious to explain exactly the way He wants things done. And even the way He wants folks to worship and serve Him and when His ways are not followed there is consequences…

Take a look at David as he gathered up thirty thousand men all the choice men of Israel to bring up the ark of God. This is yet another example we have of what happens when we do not follow Gods instructions and is an act of being unholy; “6And when they came to Nachon's threshing floor, Uzzah put out [his] [hand] to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for [his] error; and he died there by the ark of God. 8And David became angry because of the LORD's outbreak against Uzzah; and he called the name of the place Perez Uzzah to this day. (2 Samuel 6:6-8 NKJV).” It seems like Uzzah was just trying to be helpful and serve the Lord, yet he was irreverent and showed great disrespect by touching what was holy and disobeying Gods commandment a total lack of reverence. It seems harsh but God says in His Word about not touching anything holy; In the Ministry of Kohath the instructions the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron about Holy things …”15but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die, 19 that they may live and not die when they approach the most holy things, 20But they shall not go in to watch while the holy things are being covered, lest they die (Numbers 4:15, 19 & 20 NKJV).”

So it is with us when we serve we ought to have reverence for the things of God and honor God with the things He has declared Holy. And to serve Him with a heart that is Holy. Peter said- 15but as He who called you [is] holy, you also be holy in all [your] conduct, 16because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy." (1Peter 1:15-16 NKJV)

Even we can be complacent with how we are walking with the Lord, serving the Lord and don’t see the things we may be involved in as unholy or thinking I don’t do this or that thing or sin very often, maybe we don’t regard it as sin or blinded by our own self righteousness, maybe we are only seeing perfection when we look in the mirror of our life and that is the reflection we see- just the good stuff. We may be hanging out with folks who are involved in sin stuff and we knowingly know that it is ungodly and we are looking the other way, it may be our kids, family or someone close a bro in the Lord even who is in sin and we let it go unchecked. Bros we need to have the Lord check our hearts to see if there is any unclean thing, sin in there, if we are serving Him in our flesh and not in the power of the Holy Spirit, in truth.

Eli let his sons Hophni and Phinehas get away with dishonoring God they slept with the women who gathered at the door of the tabernacle, they took choice pieces of raw meats from the sacrifices against the priests’ customs, they didn’t know the Lord either but Eli did and he let them get away with detestable things before the Lord. “Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting (1 Samuel 2:22 NKJV)”. God told Eli do you love your sons more than me? Eli warned his sons but they would not listen, so God took Eli’s sons out. Heavy price they paid for sin - eternal death, they would not hear or listen to the wisdom from their father Eli. And because Eli didn’t follow God by allowing this sin to go on he did not obey and answer to the call of righteousness, he allowed his sons to let their flesh reign, and they denied God the glory and honor. Glory and Honor belong to the Lord only; He demands this from His servants, from His ministers, from His followers, from those who are called His.

Bros to me it seems when we came to the Lord and gave Him our hearts and surrendered our hearts to Him that our hearts indeed belong to Him 100 percent and if we take our heart back even for a moment we are stealing from the Lord if indeed our hearts do belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. When we give something away or surrender it then it no longer belongs to us.

It reminds me of when I was a teenager someone stole a car from a car lot and dumped it in our neighborhood. Everyone knew it was a stolen car so every kid in the neighborhood would take it out for a spin and return it and park it like it had never been taken. I guess that is why they call it “Joy Riding” just kind of borrowing it. But in reality it is stealing it even though it is already stolen you are continuing in that sin. You are taking something that doesn’t belong to you and using it in a way that is against the law and wrong in the eyes of the Lord. Just like when we think we can take our heart back from Jesus or borrow it or take it out for a “Joy Ride” for some sin, oh it is just a quick spin, and then bring it back and park it like it was never used. But when you take your heart back from the Lord and go put it back in sin you are tainting it or flavoring it with sin, you are stealing what belongs to the Lord, and you have possession of stolen property and have acquired it without the Owners’ permission and taking it where the Owner does not want it to go and doing things with it that go against the Owner and His ways. You cannot say it was just a little spin, you took it for ungodly reasons and used it against the Owners will.

Just like a fondue you dip pieces of meat, bread or fruit in different sauces that each all have different flavors and when you do, that flavor is absorbed into the meat, bread or fruit and you can’t remove that flavor. You can do anything you want but nothing you do will remove the flavor once it is dipped in the sauces. Serving God with stolen property- your heart is just like that, meaning it has absorbed that sin into it. Your heart has been stolen by the lust of your flesh and then you are trying to give the stolen property back to the Lord to use, He doesn’t want it in that condition bro! Because you stole it from Him to give to another for a quick spin, you dipped the heart in sin just for a few seconds now it is tainted and flavored with sin, it has absorbed the stinking filthy stench of death and now nothing can remove that filth except Jesus Christ. Bros why do you suppose we steal like this and think that it is only a little old fashion “Joy Ride” that it means nothing and it’s not the same as real stealing because we bring it back and try to give it to the Owner and park it where we found it… Somehow we think that there is no harm, no foul, but there is great harm and it is very dangerous to play with stolen property especially when it belongs to the Lord God Almighty, you don’t mess with what belongs to the Lord period, especially when it has been given and also surrendered for His total use forever- washed and cleansed by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. If you have stolen or are in possession of stolen property that belongs to the Lord you need to return it right now! Honor God!

Remember Nadab and Abihu, Moses, Uzzah, Hophni and Phinehas just to name a few. They probably did not realize that “Joy Ride” temporary theft or using Stolen Property would cost them so much! The reality of “Joy Riding” is it is stealing… and there is no joy in it what so ever!

Bros do not get popped with stolen property, ask the Owner your Daddy first before you go “Joy Riding” and see what He says about what you are thinking you want to do…. Hopefully your heart is convicted and you are turned back from that sin before you go for that Joy Ride before you take that property that is not yours, that heart that belongs to Jesus Christ. Leave that door closed- if you have truly given it to Jesus then leave your heart with Jesus do not take it back and use it for Joy riding and doing temporary shameless things that can have an eternal impact. Jesus never wanted or intended for you to go for that ride with “Stolen Property”, furthermore because you are His property. Remember Bros who you belong to and most importantly who your heart belongs to. So if you and your heart are Owned and operated by Jesus Christ then let it stay that way, don’t serve with sin in your heart if you are cruising in Stolen Property right now then give it back and get right with Him right now!

Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink (Genesis 21:19 NKJV).

Bros you remember the story where Hagar was despised, dejected, disowned, discarded, discouraged, depressed, down trodden and desperate, you see she had just got dumped by Sarah and Abraham, she and her son had become a thorn in Sarah’s side so they sent her packing in the wilderness wandering aimlessly and when she had run out of water and hope the Bible says; “And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs. Then she went and sat down across from [him] at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, "Let me not see the death of the boy." So she sat opposite [him], and lifted her voice and wept (Genesis 21:15-16 NKJV)”. Apparently the boy must have been praying because it says the Lord heard the voice of the lad, so he must have been crying out from his heart and praying as he lay under that shrub. Have you ever prayed like that before where you just cry out from your heart, your heart is praying out loud to God uncontrollably, you are praying from the depths of your innermost being, you cannot stop, the tears are flowing, your heart is so broken and utterly overwhelmed you empty your soul & tears out, your soul just groans and mourns aloud as you lift up your prayers and petitions to the Lord. Desperately seeking comfort and solace at which seems there is none to be found for your heart, but the Lord hears the prayers from His child and His help is on the way. “…For He hears the cry of the afflicted (Job 34:28 NKJV)”.

And when He hears our cries and prayers it’s only then that things begin to open up for us…

So that is why I find that what happened next to be so amazing especially that God opened her eyes, like maybe she didn’t have the strength to open them or it was Gods perfect timing for her to witness what He had for her next and in this case she didn’t even intentionally go to the well- God brought her to the well or He brought the well to her. “Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink (Genesis 21:19 NKJV)”. You still have to wonder did God do a miracle and instantaneously make a well appear here for her or did she not see it, when she sat down the Lord opened her eyes to the realization that the well was right in front of her like in another scripture when He opened Balaam’s eyes and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way. Either way I would say it was miraculous because by divine appointment He brought and caused her to sit right there knowing she needed to be refreshed instantaneously and also God had told her His plans to make her son a great nation. That must have been a great encouragement to hear those words coming from God about your own son and his promising future delivered right from the Creator of the heavens and earth and everything that dwells therein. Have you ever been in that position of needing the Lords refreshment right now, you can’t wait you have to hear from the Lord like Hagar and her son? You are dying of physical thirst and God blesses not only your physical needs but He blesses your spiritual needs as well. Your soul is in anguish, the pain is unbearable, the torment feels like it can no longer be tolerated you are so weak and lowly, you feel your very existence is hanging on God responding to your need, you need God to supply your provisional needs and speak to your heart right now, right this second because you are so desperate right where you are at, and He brings His Well to you as you cry out like Hagar and her son did on that day. “And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, "What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he [is] (Gen 21:17 NKJV)”.  How comforting that must have been for Hagar to hear those words of encouragement, the Lord met her and her son right there in their situation and gave them great refreshment in their hearts and bodies that only He can bring. He is faithful and this should have helped Hagar understand and remind her that God always keeps His word, He said He would make her son a great nation so God wouldn’t let anything happen to him before that fulfillment, and it’s a hard thing to remember to trust the Lord especially when things don’t look so rosy in our situation… But when you do His life giving deep refreshing well comes right before you when you call on Him and believe in Him. So no matter what you are faced with or up against He is with you and He will give you a peace like no other you have experienced. His peace is so awesome and surpasses all understanding, “and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7 NKJV)”. The harsh realities of this life and this world can be over whelming - but you can go to Gods reality and be refreshed by His “Living Water” that Jesus will deliver right to your heart and He will deliver you from the cares and burdens of this life and world.  …”casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you (1Peter 5:7 NKJV)”.  What ails you? Fear not God will hear you right where you are at, don’t wait, do it now- call upon the name above all names and ask Jesus and draw upon His well of living water. All dads’ love to hear from their kids- Especially our Father - So bros cry out “Abba Father” and go to the well of living water and be refreshed by Him filled with the Holy Spirit. Come and drink, come and receive, come and believe and receive.  

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things [are] noble, whatever things [are] just, whatever things [are] pure, whatever things [are] lovely, whatever things [are] of good report, if [there is] any virtue and if [there is] anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8 NKJV).

Bros, do you find it amazing when you are; worshipping the Lord, reading the Bible, or even at a Bible Study, Church service and or praying that your focused thoughts can get away from you and you can find yourself thinking on something and you have no idea how your thoughts got there on that subject. Your mind just runs with it and bam you are a million miles- thought wise away from the things of the Lord you were focused on. It is like when you cast out a fishing line and it keeps going and going just sailing really fast and you are now cast way out there in your mind or thoughts… The enemy is shooting those fiery darts into our minds and maybe the shield of faith is rusty and you forgot to put it on or to wear it or get refitted with faith in your Morning Prayer time that never got under way, you got in a big rush and forgot some key elements of armor. “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit…” (Jude 1:20 NKJV) 

 Or you might be *chillaxin (*chilling and relaxing) at a Starbubs having a latte deeply submerged in reading the Word and just happen to glance up and right in your line of sight there happens to be a gal who is not dressed modestly and you make the mistake of lingering your glance and now maybe you are in sin- the thoughts you are having do not honor God. But wait you were just deep in the Word of God, not a care about what is around you and now maybe you are having ungodly sinful thoughts. Bros if this happens immediately repent and ask Jesus to forgive you and cleanse your mind from these thoughts and to help you have thought control- to meditate on this scripture memorize it and use it, put it in your arsenal of Christian weaponry for protection against the wiles of the enemy. “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things [are] noble, whatever things [are] just, whatever things [are] pure, whatever things [are] lovely, whatever things [are] of good report, if [there is] any virtue and if [there is] anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8 NKJV).

Oh bros you must arm yourselves for this battle don’t go out and about the front lines without arming up, put on the armor call on the name of Jesus Christ because the enemy satan will try anything to derail your Bible study time, your devotional and prayer time, he’s a twisted killer of our relationship with Jesus Christ and will stop at nothing and try every filthy, evil, dirty -devil trick he can muster. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth (Colossians 3:2 NKJV). Take every thought captive immediately into the obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ. In other words if you can’t say your thoughts out loud in public you should not be thinking them. Imagine if you uttered them out loud what would the folks around you say or do, would they freak; if so, “Houston we got a problem”! Submit them to the Lord, if you can’t say them to the Lord why would you allow yourself to think them. Its trash bros, in your prayer time ask the Lord continuously to help you have “thought control” to take the stinkin trash out before it rots your mind and totally corrupts your thoughts. One bad apple rots the whole bunch… A little leaven, leavens the whole loaf… A drop of poison in a pitcher of water makes the whole pitcher a deadly weapon… it doesn’t take much to pollute the mind be careful what you put in front of it; a few seconds of sinful thoughts can ruin a good Bible study or prayer time which is the goal of the enemy.

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ…” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NKJV).

Bros when you allow your mind to think a sinful lustful thought, Jesus said it’s the same thing as doing it

“But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28 NKJV).

When you let your mind think on sinful or lustful thoughts, once that seed has been sowed or planted in your mind it is just a matter of time before you will be doing it. When the enemy shoots that fiery dart at your mind and you allow it to stick and you don’t block it with your shield of faith- the sin has just been conceived. Just like a woman when she gets pregnant a seed has been sowed or planted she conceives it and then she will give birth to a baby. The same goes for our thoughts bros when we start desiring and thinking of something and maybe we didn’t start out thinking about it intentionally, but it came into our thoughts via fiery dart, drive by, walk by, visual or whatever method the enemy used and we allowed our minds to dwell on it and mull it over, take it into deep thought for just a second and now our desires and minds have conceived it and it will give birth to sin. It will be just a matter of time and we will be acting that sin out in the physical flesh if we continue on those types of thoughts and do not extinguish the fiery darts and repent immediately, don’t go there bro, don’t allow your mind to control you, don’t let your mind have that much free reign keep the leash drawn in real tight, keep that reel locked and from being cast out and running away or getting away from thoughts that honor God and are pure and lovely. Don’t let your mind imagine any ungodly thoughts and don’t take the bait the enemy is forever throwing in front of your eyes or shooting into your mind. The devil will stop at nothing to get into your mind and when he does he is like a termite that is devouring and consuming your thoughts like a piece of wood until he has taken away the integrity of your good intentions and turned them away from keeping your thoughts captive into the obedience of Christ. Again stop your mind from thinking those thoughts whatever they are if they do not honor God and are sin or lust thoughts stop that thought habit right now and repent from those thoughts bro. And then turn to Him and meditate on Him, His Word and His ways and take those thoughts captive before the sin thoughts give birth to death, you know it’s coming Gods word says it, don’t go there. I know the world teaches its OK to fantasize in your mind you are not hurting anyone- but that is a lie from the pit of hell bro. Remember it all starts with a thought, the fiery dart is launched and if it sticks or has a place to land- its then conceived and then gives birth to sin and then when it is full grown it brings forth death. That’s full term sin, when it goes full term it delivers death.

13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning (James 1:13-17 NKJV).

Remember God is the giver of good gifts and thoughts too, meditate on Him and all His ways the things that are from Him and are of Him. And use your mind to bless God and to honor Him think on these things; don’t give the enemy a foothold in your mind or any thoughts he will try to take you captive he is not satisfied with just one of your thoughts he wants to dominate every thought and turn your thoughts and mind away from God. But you take every thought captive into the obedience of Christ and Honor God and you can pull down these strongholds the enemy wants to bring against you. Remember the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds…. Use the weaponry that God gave you, it’s the best, it’s mighty and its Gods gift to us for warfare. God gave us the weapons we have to pick them up and use them so call on the Lord today right now this second and ask Him to bring down the strongholds and give you thought control so your mind can be fully given over to meditating on the things of God and help you to stop letting the enemy rob your thoughts. We have Victory in Christ so use the provisions He has supplied each one of us. “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual [hosts] of wickedness in the heavenly [places].13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.14Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit”...(Ephesians 6:10-18 NKJV).

Rest your mind in and on Jesus Christ, keeping your thoughts on the things that are from the Lord pure and lovely and of good report. If and when those thoughts come repent immediately for thinking them and turn to Gods Word read it or think on a memorized scripture, or recite a scripture, sing a praise song to the Lord, pray, turn on a Christian radio station or put a Christian CD on or listen to a message. The idea is to learn to turn your thoughts to the Lord, train yourself to respond by seeking the Lord right away and pray for Him to help you always to have Thought Control and He will. He is faithful even when we are faithless.

If we are faithless, He remains faithful (2Timothy 2:13 NKJV)

Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth (Colossians 3:2 NKJV).

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2NKJV).

Let your thoughts honor God and fill your mind with the Word of God, now is the time to be changed from the inside out ask the Lord for Thought Control to bring Him honor and glory.

Think on and in Jesus Christ take every thought captive into His obedience, He loves you and is thinking of you why not do the same back…

“It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found" (Luke 15:32 NKJV).

Remember when you were lost and it seemed like you could not be found. But finally you were found-out and when you discovered who you really were it so sickened you with that brutal discovery…

Bros it seems only when we are found we realize that we were so lost… But until you are found you cannot fathom how lost you were and when you realize this you see how much God has forgiven you and loves you and you love Him so much you feel so much gratitude and you want to do and serve the Lord all the more. Much forgiven- much required…”But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more” (Luke 12:48 NKJV).

 When the Prodigal was slopping the hogs and it finally hit him, what he had become, he knew he needed to be found. He had to be found out by himself first and God used some pigs so he could relate to what he had become. Only in reality he was last to see what he was and what everyone else saw first and already knew he would become when he left with his fathers livelihood. Have you ever tried to warn someone about the direction they are heading or the choices they are making and they think you are crazy, way overboard, that you are total fruit loops, that you just are not hip enough to understand what they are trying to do or you have no vision bro, therefore you cannot see what they see or know what they know- but they are blinded by themselves because their head got so big it is now standing in the way... I think most of us as we begin to read about the prodigal son we automatically can see where this story is headed but maybe not how it will end up. It is like the writing is on the wall, why all of us always have to learn things like the prodigal did-the hard way. Some pay a more expensive price to learn than others and really there is no cheap way to learn when you don’t listen to wisdom or seek wisdom from the Lord; you are going to pay, a really heavy price bros... I guess there is a steep price to have it your way. We on one hand seem to be as reckless with wisdom as our pride will allow- which means a lot... I think we all once were a prodigal in one fashion or another. We knew better than anyone else and in some cases we thought we knew better than God.

I remember one year me and three or four of my friends went deer hunting up in Saddleback Mountains. We hiked down from the highest part of the mountain a few miles while we were hunting. After hunting most of the morning we decided to head back up the mountain and man was it steep. Now after about an hour going back up the way we came down the mountain I got this brilliant idea to take a short cut up this very steep hill and shave off a few miles of uphill hiking. So we split up one friend came with me because he agreed that it was a great idea too. We took off up this steep hill and in no time we encountered major problems and once we started up we could not come back down. We got in some Manzanita trees, which are small shrub like brush that is very tough as you cannot walk through them or break them, they do not bend they are extremely strong. We kept trying to go through them and finally had to get on our stomachs and crawl under them and then once we went under the brush we could not get back out it was so thick. I had a beautiful thirty odd six hunting rifle that I kept in mint condition at least that is until we got stuck in that brush. I tried to keep her protected and we got so desperate that I was using my gun to push back the Manzanita branches. I lost my big hunting knife and most of the ammo I was carrying because we were literally crawling on our bellies for a few hours by now. We could not stand up and bros I have to say it was getting a little hairy and seemed like we might never get out of there.

 My friend was starting to freak out big time so I kept trying to encourage him because I was leading, so I would say stuff like just a little bit further and we should be out of this, we are almost there… Even though I could not see more than a few feet in front of me and I did not even know either if we were going in circles, up or down because I keep taking the only tunnel hole under the brush I could find. We got stuck quite a few times; I got stuck between some branches and could not get out and now I was getting freaked out. I mean you could not move it was unbelievable this had to be one of the stupidest things I had ever done. What could I have been thinking anyway? “I thought let’s just take this short cut and shave off a few hours of uphill hiking. Sure we will have a tougher hike for a few minutes but then it will be over quicker”, what a knucklehead I was…  

I tell you bros my friend was panicking and I was too but I tried not to let it show and tried to keep going forward whatever direction that was. After over three hours pinned down in that brush we got to an almost vertical slope with a little clearing that we made our way over to, then went about another one to two hundred feet up and there was a dirt road. Bros we were filthy, beat up, scratched up, humbled up, woodshed ready and had lost everything we were carrying except our guns and mine was so beat up by now I did not really care, at this point I think we were in shock. We did not know where we were, we had lost our sense of direction and yeah of course our common sense had long left us with our decision to go off trail… We tried to get our bearing when we heard and then saw a truck come around the mountain road. The driver stopped and we told him what had happened to us and asked for a ride which he obliged us and we were very grateful. We told him what kind of vehicle we were driving and he said he passed it a few miles back, so he gave us a ride to our truck which we were very grateful.

You see we were so lost we did not even know it. We were the last ones to realize we were lost; the other guys were already at the truck and were looking for us, they were starting to worry because they had made it back and been there for almost two hours. We had to do it our way, we knew it all, and nobody could tell us other wise thank God we didn’t die up there on that mountain. It was a terrifying experience I can truthfully say. I wasn’t walking with the Lord at the time but I was definitely praying hard when we were trapped under that brush for those few hours…

When I think of this terrifying experience we had I can see and relate to why the prodigal sons’ dad was so grateful to get him back. Even though his son did something really stupid and did not listen just took off without weighing the consequences and maybe he was not pinned down by some Manzanita tree brush but his sins had him pinned down and trapped just the same. He was just trying to take the shortcuts in life the so called easy way, trying to be living high on the hog- no pun intended… as I did when I decided to take the shortcut on the path home that day on the mountain.  I am sure from his father’s own life experience he gained wisdom through age and maybe he even did something foolish like his son did when he was younger, just as I had and probably you too did something foolish in your life as well at some point. It does make you more appreciative and humble when you have a close call and you have a lot more gratitude for God. When you lose something and you get it back it is for a reason and we have to thank the Lord for that. I know for all of us if we have a prodigal child we can learn from this father’s experience.

“It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found" (Luke 15:32 NKJV).

And maybe we are the prodigal child right now in our lives and need to be found again by the Lord or maybe we just need to rejoice in the Lord continuously that we are found or have been found, there is so much to be thankful for bros. The big story here is our loving Father in heaven is always ready and glad to receive us and wants to forgive us when we might have run away from Him. He will always make a big fuss over you if you find yourself lost and are found-because He loves you bro! “7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance”. “10 Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents" (Luke 15:7 &10 NKJV).

"It shall come to pass That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear. Isaiah 65:24 NKJV

Bros may we ever be before our Mighty King Jesus Christ seeking His face in prayer day and night, night and day and all the time in between going both directions… as the Lord declares the complete history and glorious future to the remnant of Israel. God’s people will confess their sins; all His enemies will be judged, justice will prevail as the Lord God will make all things new, God brings great comfort in these prophetic verses of the last 26 chapters of Isaiah.

 In our lives He can and will bring forth great comfort and make all things new when we confess our sins, oh we still may have the consequences of sin to deal with but the idea is that He can give us forgiveness that we so desperately need because it’s death without His forgiveness, and be our hope- our only hope, make us newly washed and fresh so we can start over right now right where we are at this moment. We can come as we are, so we don’t have to go and do anything but get on our knees and confess our sins. He is able to do the rest completely and in a way that only He can to make us fully forgiven, fully washed and cleansed from the filthiness of our sins, fully restored to a right relationship and a right standing with Jesus Christ. We are His children, His family and He bestows this love, this right and this blessing on us His children when we come to Him and confess our sins and ask forgiveness. What an unbelievable inheritance we have here on earth right now and this is just the beginning of our inheritance. The Lord Jesus Christ makes us whole again, we don’t have to carry that guilt and shame around like a heavy weight on our heart woven in and out and all around and through our heart choking off our very life and making our heart hardened by the weight of those sins, we have no need to leave hearts sick with sin, we don’t have to carry those sins around like Samsonite luggage for the rest of our life. We can ask the Lord Jesus Christ to take them away and that is truly a blessing here on earth while we are temporarily here- it’s an early inheritance gift that comes from the Lord Jesus Christ it is part of His love and gift to us because He paid dearly for those sins and the right to remove those sins from us He alone is God.

Bros as we start out this new year and really everyday that we would take advantage of this life saving gift that can only come from the Lord Jesus Christ and be refreshed and forgiven. He already says before we call He will answer and while we are speaking He will hear. I have been reminded of the power of prayer and lack of prayer a lot lately especially as I read verse 24 in Isaiah 65. I think we always have to take our prayers back to the beginning we must repent taking our transgressions and inequities before the Lord to set things right in our standing with the Lord, by this meaning that the Lord Jesus Christ takes those sins away when we confess with our mouths and turn away from those sins. And when we have been washed and cleansed we can receive all His blessings and sup with Him. Bros I believe there is a lot that should be desired in all of us with our prayer lives. This day and age we seem to be hard pressed on every side to do this or get that done as fast as humanly possible. How about all this technology that’s supposed to help us do a better job and make things faster. I know for me and probably a few other old school-ers, it seems we waste more time doing a bunch of things we never had time to do before because now it is always in front of our faces- you know those hand held devices that consume our every second. No one realizes how much these things actually control us. They know our location at every second, they know everywhere we have been, they have all our personal information stored in them, they have been made to track our likes and put things that are suppose to be interesting to us in front of us so they can sell us something we don’t want or need…The reason I say this is because more and more these things consume you and me and our time. I have been making a concerted effort to spend more time in prayer; I was missing it so much not that I stopped praying but I really needed to get my focus back on prayer time and really missing what my Father had to say to me. I read about these mighty men of prayer that were consumed with praying for hours to the Lord and I think man nowadays it seems everything is a shotgun prayer- a quick blast covering and encompassing as wide an area as possible. Not that short fast prayers can’t or won’t reach God, but to say that somewhere somehow we can get messed up and derailed if we don’t keep our priority’s right before the Lord Jesus Christ. I have been so blessed in my renewed time of prayer, it is refreshing me and making me to get back to the relationship with Jesus that blesses me so much and blesses God to hear from the depths of my heart as I cry out to Him and He listens to me as only a Father can and brings that comfort and refreshment to my soul. “…You shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; When He hears it, He will answer you” (Isaiah 30:19 NKJV). Let this new beginning of a new year be a time of returning to the foot of the cross and you will be amazed at what the Lord wants to say to you and what He wants to do in your life and where He is leading you. He does hear prayer and He does answer prayer and maybe He hasn’t heard from you in a while and maybe it is time He did hear from His beloved child to see if it is well within your heart and soul…

Bros sometimes there are times when we need to hear from God as we seek His word and seek Him in prayer those times where the depths of our soul needs to be moved and touched by His spirit and it is only when we spend time with Him in that deep prayer and meditation can He touch us in that manner. That is to say where we invite Him and let Him come into the innermost depth of our heart and soul and to know that He is the only One that can go there and that has ever been there and He is the only One that knows what exists there in the deepest depths of our heart and soul. He also is the only One that can minister and change our hearts. He can remove what does not belong there and He can move in your heart instantly in the power of prayer and make sweeping changes when you invite Him in to sup with you. He can and will do all those things that you never could do and He knows what has to go to make room for those changes, hopefully it is not something we are hanging on to so tightly that He has to rip it from our grip, that thing or something that is a growth on the walls of our heart and it has become enlarged and is manifesting itself into something that is getting out of control and really maybe uncontrollable and so you seek the Lord now that you have asked Him inside and let Him remove it, He can be gentle, but if you ask know that He is going to do it and He may have to pry it off and out of your heart and it could hurt but it will be that kind of feel good hurt. You know that feeling where some area of your body is healing and it is sore but you can feel the healing taking place and so it feels good in a sort of feel good hurt way… Maybe you need to hear from God in a very physical or financial way, by some type of physical blessing I mean a tangible blessing, you are crying out for help on something you are doing or some trial or something you need help within a moments notice and you call on God. There are times when we seek and need to ask God to move right now in our situation according to His will and His tender mercies. And in those times when God seems to instantly answer your prayer, when He hears your cry he answers right away isn’t that how we parents respond when our children are crying out for us to help them… “And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight”. (1 John 3:22 NKJV)

A few years back I was working in Northern California and as I was driving my Jeep up Highway 99 in the early evening on a Sunday as I was cruising along all of a sudden I heard a couple of thuds under my hood. I thought wow that did not sound good so I pulled over in the middle of nowhere and looked under the hood and at first did not see anything wrong. But as I took a closer look I saw about a third of my serpentine fan belt missing- ouch I thought! I stared at it for a few seconds and got back in and started driving thinking OK I will take it easy and keep going. As I drove along I began to pray and think that maybe I should try to find a place to get a new belt. Even though I had very little money and no credit cards with me and maybe two wrenches to try to replace it, I had the Lord with me. So the next town I pulled in and found a place that had one in stock – thank you Jesus! I drove away and thought now where am I going to find a place to where I can put this thing on. I got back on the highway and down the road a piece I saw a truck stop mainly a huge gravel lot for the trucks to pull in. I pulled up under this street light in the middle of the lot as I thought it might be dark in a little while and I would need the light. So I popped the hood once again and got my two wrenches out to see if they would work for this job.  I learned after owning a few Jeeps you don’t want to take the old belt off first before you get the new one in place- it can be a nightmare if you don’t know the direction it weaves around all those different pulleys… I was so ill prepared for this job as I looked over all the different size wrenches that I needed thank the Lord there was a truckers store there that had a few tools, so I went and bought two more cheap wrenches and this left me with twenty dollars to my name to get me through the rest of the week. As I began working and everything seemed to go smoothly until I realized I needed one more wrench and the store did not have it. I saw a mechanics shop in the distance so I walked about three hundred yards to the truck mechanics shop and thought to myself there is no way no how a mechanic who has to make a living with his tools is going to loan me a stranger his tools- so I prayed and boldly went where no man with common sense would have gone. I said to the mechanic I was working on my Jeep and needed to borrow a wrench and would leave my drivers license as collateral if he would let me use one of his wrenches before I could finish he said don’t worry about it take what you need just bring it back in fifteen minutes because he was closing up shop and had to leave. Man the Lord opened the doors for me, this is a miracle I though to myself as I looked through his tools and found the one I needed and tried to give him my license but he refused to take it. I got back to my Jeep as fast as possible and started the surgery once again. I got the belt on and tighten the bolt with the borrowed wrench and got it back to the mechanic before he left for the day. So I was almost finished putting this belt on about an hour later. I noticed it was getting colder and I had no jacket with me- hey that is just the way I rolled back in the day and it was getting darker and I thought praise the Lord I decided to fix this now instead of chancing it out on the highway because there are some stretches of lonely dark highway up there that you would not want to get broke down on trust me! So as I tried to tighten up the belt and then started the engine I noticed it was still loose so I tried again and realized I needed another hand to hold the alternator in place while I tighten it down or a pry bar to hold it. No matter how many times I tried to get it snug it wasn’t tight enough. I was getting desperate as it was dark and getting really cold, I had virtually no money and no help in sight in fact I was the only one in the middle of this huge gravel parking lot that must have been a half mile long… I began to cry out to the Lord desperately for help and I kept trying to tighten the belt but it wouldn’t stay tight.  I had now been under that street light for almost three hours a simple little 20 minute job with the right tools and conditions had turned out to be a nightmare for me. As I was praying and crying out to the Lord out of nowhere instantaneously and remember I can see in every direction for three hundred yards and there is nothing around me and this guy walks up and says “hey I was just driving down from the mountains and …” I finished his sentence for him with “I know you wrecked your car down an embankment and spent all your money getting it towed out and now you need money to buy your wife some medication as she is a diabetic right?” He looked at me kind of puzzled as I told him I only had about twenty bucks on me and had to have it for gas for the rest of my trip. Without even so much as a complaint he said what are you doing here and I said I just need someone to hold this while I tighten these bolts. The guy immediately knew exactly what had to be done it was like he knew what I had been struggling with and within seconds it was fixed and I started my engine and it worked the belt stayed tightly in place and didn’t slip, thank you Jesus. I turned to him and said look I know you need money I will give you half of what I have, so I gave him ten bucks and as I turned to close my hood standing there in the middle of that huge gravel parking lot it took all of maybe two seconds to close that hood and when I had turned around the guy was completely gone as in vanished. I thought O’man wow Lord you are awesome, it was the most awesome thing. The Lord heard my cry and fixed my problem in a few seconds, it was so unbelievable and incredible how the Lord did that. You are probably thinking to yourself right now that is awesome, but how did you know that his car went off an embankment and he spent all his money getting it towed and not having enough money for his wife’s meds. Well let me tell you bro a few months before this day actually maybe six months before I was driving my little son up North with me to stay with me for a week and my Jeep was so hot inside and he was so active I would have to stop about every hour and let him get out of his car seat and run around a little bit so I would stop at a fast food joint with one of those jungle gym mazes and let him burn off some steam and then go on our way. Well this one particular time a few hundred miles from where I currently was almost stranded as I walked to my car with my son a guy came up to me and said excuse me I was just coming down out of the mountains and my car went off the road and crashed into the embankment… So I gave him twenty dollars. As I think back on this story I think what are the odds of running into a complete stranger twice; a couple hundred miles apart from each meeting, the Lord knows. Maybe that was a test for me, you know entertaining angels…

I do know that the Lord answers our prayers just like when we hear our children’s cry and respond, He hears our cry and answers at the sound of our distress calls no matter what the need the Lord Jesus Christ is faithful even when we are not. Remember in Genesis 24 Abraham sent out his oldest servant to find a wife for Isaac. You would think he was not the best candidate for this job sending a really old guy out to find a young beautiful wife for someone else. But the Lord answered his prayer to bring Rebekah a very beautiful gal even while he was still praying;  “And it happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder”. (Gen 24:15 NKJV)

So bros know that the Lord is concerned with all that you are facing right now and He can and is willing to answer your prayers. It may not be according to our will but according to His which is way better- praise the Lord!  “You will make your prayer to Him, He will hear you...” Job 22:27 NKJV

“You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” (Deuteronomy 6:7 NKJV).

Bros isn’t it amazing how fast the time flies raising your children. It seems like you just barely got started and they are at that age where you seem like you can’t teach them anymore. Not that you don’t want to teach them but that they refuse to let you and they become frustrated and you then become frustrated…Then we have to let go and give them to the Lord and trust fully in the Lord to help them and it’s scary not that the Lord can’t do it but sometimes we are afraid for our kids and it is just hard to let go of being able to use every teachable moment to continue training them up. Even all the years I have been given to raise my children, about 36 years ago I started with my oldest and now my youngest is approaching that age of wanting to do it his way. Man time just seems to slip by, on some hands it might seem a blessing and on another hand it is very difficult to let go and let them go and grow and make decisions on their own. Especially when you have used every opportunity like the scripture in Deuteronomy 6:7, using every example of every situation you can to teach them Gods Word. You are praying that something sticks, that they got it, that they picked up what you were laying down for them…That they are running with you or at least running beside you. And then you remember the reminder scripture on stuff like this; “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it” (Pro 22:6 NKJV). And it gives you that hope, peace and comfort straightaway from the word of God.

Of course beginning in chapter 6 of the book of Deuteronomy Moses is speaking to Israel on what a godly home is suppose to be all about. It essentially instructs men to teach their children by formal teaching and informal teaching; we are to talk to them, instruct them in Gods truth and by our habits or way of leading our own lives, our personality behind closed doors and in public, we are to lead by example. Our homes are our schools where we the fathers are the teachers of our children under Christ. This is not only a tremendous responsibility but can be a very trying responsibility to say the least. It’s like we are given one shot (meaning their childhoods- but it seems so fast, really too fast then it’s gone) and the Lord is extremely gracious and merciful with us and I dare say that not one of us who has survived this endeavor will come out the other side and say that he did it perfect or didn’t have any regrets over his ability to handle all that is involved in this responsibility. I know many, myself included could wish to have another chance to do it over not only for the reason of trying to do a better job of being a better father but also to prolong this sweet blessing of seeing your kids growing up and being their daddy in their sweet innocence once again. And that is why I would like to share this insightful dad learning story that my little middle daughter who was about 3-5 years old at the time taught me.

I remember back in that day I was so busy always working to provide and having all the nice things for my family, you know always wanting the best and going to great lengths to provide for your family even to the point of consuming yourself in your work to the point of being tuned out of everything they are doing and going through in the name of making a buck. Forgetting the real goal in being a dad and father is to spend time with them, to love them and insure their well being and giving them your loving attention and teaching them by your example of how a father is suppose to be but yet falling so short of this goal. I worked out of my house so you would think that would have made it a lot easier to spend time with my children and make time for them.

This one particular day I was sitting at my dinning room table most all of the day cramming to finish a bid by the end of the day. So there I sat flipping the pages of a very complicated set of blueprints for the job I was bidding, going as fast as I could and trying hard to concentrate to finish this bid by the required deadline time. My daughter had kept coming to me over the course of this day and asking me to take her to the store to buy some candy, very sweetly she would say daddy can you take me to the store to buy me some candy and I would say as soon as I finish bidding this job and going through these blueprints. Well as you know an hour is eternity to a child especially my daughter and it seemed every twenty to thirty minutes she would come and ask me if we could go to the store to which I would reply as soon as I am finished. Needless to say this went on for several hours and as I became more frustrated with the complicated set of blueprints and feeling the pressure from my deadline to turn my bid in and not to mention my little blond haired blue eyed girls’ persistent desire to go to the store for a little candy, which was a big deal to her. I was beginning to crack I was working so fast and was running out of time and I had to tune everything out to keep going to finish that is when my daughter came back to me and asked one more time after what seemed like her hundred time of asking, I blew up and said I couldn’t take her and had to finish what I was doing and couldn’t stop to go to the store and get her candy. That’s when my little middle girl head hung low, hurtfully stomped up the stairs across from where I was sitting working so furiously, fanatically fast to complete my work when as she hit the first landing of our staircase and I remember this as it were happening this moment. She then stopped and turned with tears streaming down her cheeks and by the way she had over enlarged big giant blue eyes that were filled with tears and she said “Daddy, don’t you remember when you were a little kid and you wanted your daddy to take you to 7-11 to buy you some candy”…

Bros that moment is forever etched in my heart as one of the most heart moving, heart warming, heart wrenching and heart convicting things that has ever happened to me. I froze for a millisecond threw down my pencil on my plans and ran and grabbed my daughter in my arms and said lets go get some candy. I realized through this that nothing is more important at this time in life when our children are little, five minutes is all it took to bless her to show her she is important to daddy and that she is loved by me and that I have time for her. You see those days are gone now and how I wish I could go back if just for times like this to take the time to teach my children and show them how much I love them and how important they are to me. To spend that little extra time with them even for the little trivial things that seem unimportant to us yet those times, those things will last a lifetime in the memories of their hearts and ours too! Take the time to teach them these things whether it be your children or grandchildren. Bros not that I am an expert having mastered being a dad but as a brother in the Lord I come to you with this reminder and encouragement to you and myself to take the time to follow this example of Gods Word- our dad instructions that has been laid down for us…savor every moment, grab every second to take every opportunity to do just this- “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up”- (Deuteronomy 6:7 NKJV). While we still have time before “Times Up” we need to take “Time Out” for what is really important, we only have today to teach them and love them, for tomorrow is here sooner than we can ever imagine should the Lord tarry…  “Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from Him” (Psalm 127:3 NLT).